Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16
Journal: What does it mean to you to be salt and light this day? What habits, needs, or patterns tend to get
in the way of that?
Reflection:
Being salt and light seems like a delicate
balance. A balance between being
and doing. A balance between drawing
attention to God versus drawing attention to ourselves. And a balance between trying too hard versus
not trying hard enough. It can be
difficult to find that fruitful middle ground.
When we try too hard, for
example, we can have a tendency to overpower people. After all, too much salt can destroy a
perfectly good meal, and too much light can be blinding. They both must be applied in the right
amounts. They both must realize their
role in the process. When salt or light
become the point, rather than something that accentuates or illuminates the
point (Jesus), then they have become a hindrance rather than a help. Be honest, we have all experienced that
before, either in ourselves or others.
And it ends up driving people away from the kingdom rather than drawing
them toward it.
The problem begins when salt
loses its desire to just be salt, and instead wants to become the whole
meal. Or when light loses its interest
in just being light and wants to become the city it is meant to illuminate. When we start wanting to be seen or noticed,
rather than simply wanting to accentuate or illuminate God, the whole process goes
haywire. We get in the way of what God
is trying to do, rather than enabling it.
So, may we all, each and every one of us, only desire that people taste
and see Jesus. For when they do, then,
and only then, will they be able to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: Lord Jesus, may people taste and see you in my
life this day and know that you are good.
Amen.
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